The correct answer is option 3. Worcester v. Georgia (1832). Worcester was a missionary living in Cherokee territory who filed a lawsuit against the State of Georgia arguing that Georgia did not have any right to extend its laws to Cherokee territory. The Supreme Court agreed with Worcester and, in the legal case Worcester v. Georgia, ruled that the Cherokee Indians constituted a nation holding distinct sovereign powers and thus the states did not have the right to impose regulations upon them or their land. Though Worcester won his case against the State of Georgia, President Andrew Jackson refused to enforce the ruling, which strengthened Georgia’s resolve to seize Cherokee land and led directly to forced removal of the Cherokee people in 1838. This removal came to be known as the Trail of Tears because of its devastating effects. It is estimated that 4000 of the 15000 Cherokee that were removed from their land died from hunger, exhaustion, and disease.
